2023-10-10 00:02:02
HUARINA, Bolivia (AP) — In a town in the Bolivian highlands, bulls are still a popular attraction when the patron saint festival arrives that combines the tradition brought by the Spanish colonizers with predictions regarding the harvests.
In Huarina, 65 kilometers from La Paz, regarding thirty amateur bullfighters gathered on Monday to challenge brave bulls in a street fight in which the animal is not sacrificed. Thousands of spectators, many of them arriving from neighboring towns, were stationed around the town’s field that acts as an improvised arena.
The bullfighting festival is the center of the Catholic festival in honor of the Virgin of Remedios, patron saint of the Aymara people of regarding 1,500 inhabitants. Trucks and small buses that surround the arena acted as stands to welcome the public.
According to the belief of local peasants and farmers, if the bull causes an accident to the bullfighter, it is a sign that there will be a good harvest. “That is the popular belief,” says amateur bullfighter Mauro Copa.
“If the bull comes out of the ring with a view of the sun it means that the first harvest will be good, if it comes out with its head down it will be a late harvest. That’s why people come to see it,” says Reynaldo Tito, president of the Bullfighters Union.
In the ring there are rag dolls that the bull gores. The bullfighters do not dress in sequins but in jeans and a T-shirt, but they wear a cape like that of professional bullfighters and challenge the bull.
The show becomes more fun when daring young people from the audience jump into the ring to run following the animal and show off their skill and agility. Applause and laughter start.
The bullfighting festival, attended by fighting bulls from neighboring Peru, closes four days of popular festivities in honor of the patron saint, whose image went out in procession the day before through the streets of the town to the rhythm of popular bands and colorful folk dances.
Around the arena, numerous vendors offer culinary delights. Typical food made from lamb, llama and potato meat produced by the rural community.
Activists have criticized these celebrations as animal abuse but fans say that the bull is not killed, it is only run around. “This is not professional bullfighting, there are no flags or swords, nothing that hurts the animal. It is a game to provoke the bull’s anger,” explains Copa.
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